Subak, Warisan Dunia Terbaru Indonesia

Pada hari ini running text di televise dan sejumlah media online memberitakan bahwa Subak telah menjadi  warisan dunia. Bahkan website sekretariat negara pun memberitakannya di sini. Statusnya memang sudah direkomendasikan oleh World Heritage Committee untuk dijadikan warisan dunia yang secara resmi akan diketok palu pada acara konvensi di Saint Petersburg Rusia.

Lanskap sawah di Bali memang Indah (doc pribadi)

Saya tertarik menelusuri sumber beritanya, yakni dari situs UNESCO. Akhirnya ditemukan berkas persiapan pertemuan di Saint Petersburg tersebut di sini. Pada dokumen tanggal 11 Mei 2012 tersebut terdapat daftar calon warisan dunia berikut rekomendasi dari komite warisan dunia yang akan dibahas di Rusia bulan Juni nanti. Pada daftar tersebut tercantum “Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy” dengan status rekomendasinya sebagai I atau “Inscription”, yang berarti memang disetujui sebagai warisan dunia. Status “Inscription” merupakan dambaan bagi setiap negara pengusul karena secara teknis tinggal ditetapkan saja, tanpa perlu informasi tambahan atau revisi dari negara pengusulnya, seperti halnya satus rekomendasi lainnya, seperti “referral”, “deferral”, atau bahkan ditolak atau tidak direkomenasikan.

Cuplikan daftar obyek budaya yang akan dibahas nanti di Saint Petersburg-Rusi (sumber:UNESCO)

Dari 38 nominasi warisan dunia yang akan dibahas di Saint Petersburg, 12 obyek diusulkan menjadi warisan dunia (status: Insription), termasuk Subak yang masuk kategori “Cultural Proporties” bersama 27 obyek lainnya. Penjelasan Subak juga dirinci pada dokumen tersebut, di antara mencakup deskripsi obyeknya, kriteria yang dipenenuhi, serta rekomendasi bagi pemerintah Indonesia. Berikut kutipan sebagian deskripsi tentang Subak:

“The overall subak system exemplifies the Balinese philosophical principle of Tri Hita Karana that draws together the realms of the spirit, the human world and nature. Water temple rituals promote a harmonious relationship between people and their environment through the active engagement of people with ritual concepts that emphasise dependence on the life-sustaining forces of the natural world.

In total Bali has about 1,200 water collectives and between 50 and 400 farmers manage the water supply from one source of water. The property consists of five sites that exemplify the interconnected natural, religious, and cultural components of the traditional subak system, where the subak system is still fully functioning, where farmers still grow traditional Balinese rice without the aid of fertilisers or pesticides, and where the landscapes overall are seen to have sacred connotations.

The sites are the Supreme Water Temple of Pura Ulun Danu Batur on the edge of Lake Batur whose crater lake is regarded as the ultimate origin of every spring and river, the Subak Landscape of the Pakerisan Watershed the oldest known irrigation system in Bali, the Subak Landscape of Catur Angga Batukaru with terraces mentioned in a 10th century inscription making them amongst the oldest in Bali and prime examples of Classical Balinese temple architecture, and the Royal Water temple of Pura Taman Ayun, the largest and most architecturally distinguished regional water temple, exemplifying the fullest expansion of the subak system under the largest Balinese kingdom of the 19th century.”

Dari 10 kriteria yang ada dalam pedoman UNESCO, Subak memenuhi tiga kriteria yaitu kriteria ke III, V, dan VI, sedangkan sebelumnya pemerintah Indonesia mengusulkan dengan emapat kriteria, yaitu dengan tambahan kriteria II. Penjelasan tentang kriteria warisan dunia bisa dilihat pada tulisan sebelum berjudul: “Kaya Budaya Miskin Warisan Dunia“ Berikut kutipan ketiga kriteria yang menjadi dasar pertimbangan untuk menjadikan Subak sebagai warisan dunia.

“Criterion III: The cultural tradition that shaped the landscape of Bali, since at least the 12th century, is the ancient philosophical concept of Tri Hita Karana. The congregations of water temples, that underpin the water management of the subak landscape, aim to sustain an harmonious relationship with natural and spiritual world, through an intricate series of rituals, offerings and artistic performances.

Criterion (v): The five landscapes within Bali are an exceptional testimony to the subak system, a democratic and egalitarian system focused on water temples and the control of irrigation that has shaped the landscape over the past thousand years. Since the 11th century the water temple networks have managed the ecology of rice terraces at the scale of whole watersheds. They provide a unique response to the challenge of supporting a dense population on a rugged volcanic island that is only extant in Bali.

Criterion (vi): Balinese water temples are unique institutions, which for more than a thousand years have drawn inspiration from several ancient religious traditions, including Saivasiddhanta and Samkhyā Hinduism, Vajrayana Buddhism and Austronesian cosmology. The ceremonies associated with the temples and their role in the practical management of water together crystallise the ideas of the Tri Hita Karana philosophy that promotes the harmonious relationship between the realms of the spirit, the human world and nature. This conjunction of ideas can be said to be of outstanding significance and directly manifest in the way the landscape has developed and is managed by local communities within the subak system.“

Menjadi warisan dunia memang membanggakan, namun yang lebih penting adalah bagaimana bisa menjaganya agar tetap lestari sepanjang zaman. Mengenai upaya pelestarian Subak tersebut, ada baiknya kita menyimak rekomendasi lengkap dari komite warisan dunia yang saya kutip dari dokumen tersebut di atas.

“Recommends that the State Party give consideration to the following: a) Adapting the buffer zone boundaries to landscape features, and particularly watersheds, through detailed studies; b) Elaborating a disaster preparedness plan; c) Developing detailed monitoring indicators; d) Creating low-key site specific information to raise awareness of the subak system; e) Promoting traditional building practices for village houses”.

Semoga sawah ini tetap lestari tidak tergusur villa mewah demi pariwisata (doc pribadi)

Selamat buat masyarakat Bali dan juga kita sebagai masyarakat Indonesia atas keberhasilan Subak menjadi warisan dunia. Sebentar lagi secara resmi Subak bersanding dengan warisan dunia lainnya dari Indonesia yaitu Borobudur, Taman Nasional Komode, Prambanan, Taman Nasional Ujung Kulon, Situs Pra Sejarah Sangiran,  Taman Nasional Lorentz, dan Kawasan Hutan Hujan Topis Sumatra untuk kategori “Tangible Cultural Heritage”; serta Batik, Angklung, Wayang, Keris, dan Tari Saman untuk kategori “Intangible Cultural Heritage”.

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